Pirate party! Who doesn't want to go to a pirate party???
There seems no better way to end this horror-in-the-sea month on GHT than to have a post about how to plot and plan a dream pirate-themed party!
*Be sure to look for "links" to finding items online. The highlighted words are links you can click on to find where to get these items at reasonable prices*
It's the perfect summer escape. Some might enjoy hosting it indoors, but I highly advise you enjoy the summer sultry weather and take it outdoors where it can take on the sweat and the grit of a real pirate mash up.
Consider putting down two long wide wood boards side by side from your back patio into the yard so people can "walk the plank" to enter the party. Make it even more awesome by taking some chain (fake or real) or rope and attaching it to the end of the board in the yard and then up to the sides of the house or porch awning up high so it looks like it was let down like a real plank -
There seems no better way to end this horror-in-the-sea month on GHT than to have a post about how to plot and plan a dream pirate-themed party!
*Be sure to look for "links" to finding items online. The highlighted words are links you can click on to find where to get these items at reasonable prices*
It's the perfect summer escape. Some might enjoy hosting it indoors, but I highly advise you enjoy the summer sultry weather and take it outdoors where it can take on the sweat and the grit of a real pirate mash up.
Consider putting down two long wide wood boards side by side from your back patio into the yard so people can "walk the plank" to enter the party. Make it even more awesome by taking some chain (fake or real) or rope and attaching it to the end of the board in the yard and then up to the sides of the house or porch awning up high so it looks like it was let down like a real plank -
The Layout
The cost of props, prizes, party favors, and plates/cups and the such should be kept to a minimum. Spend the money where it should be - drinks and food. Most props can be made with reused or found items so they look appropriately grungy. Use a wheelbarrow as a place to dump ice and canned or bottled drinks.
Get the right music (later in this post is a list). Put some red colored bulbs in the backyard lighting. A fog machine is an extra special touch, as is a black light and fluorescent paints!
And, if you are willing to be creative with cardboard, you can make a bow of a ship as a wonderful backdrop jutting out of a wall or hang tattered sailcloth that is tea-stained from the trees and create wonderful hidden nooks to sit and talk or a fire pit to drink your rum around.
If you have a pool, get a red pool light lens and a blow-up shark, a few blow up boats with oars and a floating ice chest with cupholder.
Get the right music (later in this post is a list). Put some red colored bulbs in the backyard lighting. A fog machine is an extra special touch, as is a black light and fluorescent paints!
And, if you are willing to be creative with cardboard, you can make a bow of a ship as a wonderful backdrop jutting out of a wall or hang tattered sailcloth that is tea-stained from the trees and create wonderful hidden nooks to sit and talk or a fire pit to drink your rum around.
If you have a pool, get a red pool light lens and a blow-up shark, a few blow up boats with oars and a floating ice chest with cupholder.
You can take a table and put a cloth down and top that with netting or use an old white sheet stained with tea and torn and tattered. Cheesecloth can look good too. For placemats, you can take paper grocery bags and cut the placemat, burn the edges carefully to make it aged, and then draw a rugged pirate map with an X on it.
Lighting is critical for an appropriate pirate party. You can do fog machines, but without the lights, you lose some excitement and mood.
Ocean wave projector light $32.97
DRINKS
When making pirate drinks - think in terms of tropical ingredients like coconut, mango, pineapple, and citrus, rum, coconut vodka, blue curacao, and grenadine. Punch is an ideal drink, as is several types of rum; spiced rum, white rum, gold rum, black rum. And, don't forget a beer keg.
Put some pineapple chunks and marashino
cherries on toothpicks to drop into the drinks. Keep out lots of ice to clink in the cups and perhaps some iced tea and Coke for mixers too.
Aruba Rum Punch Recipe
1 oz. Myer's Rum
1 oz. Mount Gay Barbados Rum
1 oz. Bacardi White Rum
1 oz. Orange Juice
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Sour Mix
Splash of Grenadine
2 dashes of Bitters
Pour all ingredients over ice in a hurricane glass, and stir well. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and a slice of orange, and serve.
For a large array of pirate drinks, check out this link at TalkLikeAPirate.
Dirty Pirate Popsicles: 1 part spiced rum, 1 part Kahlua, 3 parts Coke. Make these in the small Dixie cups and use popsicle sticks. Bring out a tray of them when the party is going well. These taste amazing!
Food
Caribbean foods are a great choice - lots of tropical fruit salsa, jerk chicken, rice, and recipes can be found here. You can hollow out melons, pineapples and citrus halves to put sauces, dips, and treats in.
Take a pineapple and cut a slice off the bottom so it can stand up. Cut the top off the pineapple. Now, cut into the pineapple as it stands up, to make a hollowed out core where you can place a bowl into it with dipping sauce. Take wood skewers with strips of chicken ribboned on them and grill with pineapple marinade on them and stick into the pineapple's sides like a porcupine with a spicy dip.
1 c. pineapple juice, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/3 c. soy sauce. Heat to just boiling and then turn off and cool. Let cool 5-10 mins. Cut chicken into long strips about 1/2 inch wide and about 1/4 inch deep. Marinate it in the fridge in the marinade for at least 20 minutes but up to a day. Now, work them onto wood skewers that have been soaked in water. Grill.
Take a pineapple and cut a slice off the bottom so it can stand up. Cut the top off the pineapple. Now, cut into the pineapple as it stands up, to make a hollowed out core where you can place a bowl into it with dipping sauce. Take wood skewers with strips of chicken ribboned on them and grill with pineapple marinade on them and stick into the pineapple's sides like a porcupine with a spicy dip.
1 c. pineapple juice, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/3 c. soy sauce. Heat to just boiling and then turn off and cool. Let cool 5-10 mins. Cut chicken into long strips about 1/2 inch wide and about 1/4 inch deep. Marinate it in the fridge in the marinade for at least 20 minutes but up to a day. Now, work them onto wood skewers that have been soaked in water. Grill.
This one is a Paula Deen recipe for a dipping sauce that would be ideal - 1 T. butter, 1/2 to 1 jalepeno seeded and minced, 1 tsp fresh ginger grated, 1 18-oz jar orange marmalade, 2 T. lime juice, 1/4 tsp salt. Melt butter in saucepan. Add ginger and pepper. stir and reduce to medium low and stir in marmalade, lime juice and salt. Simmer 5 mins, stir frequently.
Consider taking cardboard boxes and painting them like little sea chests and prop them open to allow guests to gather popcorn or candies from them. Decorate the table with decorative gems or a spray of seashells.
Consider taking cardboard and paint and turning the serving table into a boat.
Consider; eye patch, stuffed parrot, hook, jewels, rings, head scarf, hat, large belt buckle, sword, musket, Jolly Roger jewelry, vest, tights, knickers, boots....
Selfie Backdrops
Set up areas in the party one where people can do some selfies with a pirate backdrop. Hang up a tricorn hat, an eye patch and pirate sword, cheap costume jewels, a ceramic rum jar, stuffed parrot, or other fantastic prop items. You can hang netting on the wall or a tattered white sheet dipped in tea to stain it old looking for a tattered sail. If you are ambitious, head scarf, clip on earring, a Jolly Roger. Consider taking cardboard and painting old wood crates and jugs could be fun too! If you want to make it really dark and awesome, consider putting a red bulb light on the area or blue to cast a cool lighting on the subject.
(Jolly Roger reference)
(crates and jugs reference)
(Fish netting reference)
(Tattered sail reference)
For $39.99, you can get a life-sized cardboard Jack Sparrow for people to party with, pose with, and keep it after the party for your kid's room or yours!
Invitations
A scroll is the way to go. Most people do electronic invites, so a little Photoshop or other photo program manipulation and you can take one of these scrolls and make them into an invite. (I found these by doing a Google image search for "aged paper scroll wallpaper" and found tons.)
Another great idea is a pirate map that would show the map to your place with an X there. (I found these by doing a Google image search of "pirate map wallpaper")
Music
You want to set the music for revelry and pirate plundering, but you don't want to be cliche. There are so many ways you can go with a pirate-themed party. One of the most obvious concepts is to use Jimmy Buffet music and turn it into a parrothead paradise of island lovers. You could go Reggae. You might also consider epic swashbuckling soundtracks like Nox Arcana "Phantoms of the Seas," "Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack," or "Pirates, Guitars and Beachfront Bars" album. For a really comprehensive playlist, try this posting.
Enjoy and be certain you have a wild, but responsible pirate party. If need be, toss pillows and cushions on the floor and let the pirates sleep off their rum delirium.
You're never too old to plunder. How about a pinata filled with things the adult partiers might like?
Other potential pinata additions -
scratch lottery tickets
cigars
individually wrapped rum truffle candies
one pair men's pirate g-string underwear
one pair women's pirate thong panties
hemp bracelets ($2.39)
Other potential pinata additions -
scratch lottery tickets
cigars
individually wrapped rum truffle candies
one pair men's pirate g-string underwear
one pair women's pirate thong panties
Should you decide to hold out and do your pirate party for Halloween, there's some great examples to follow....
Enjoy mateys!
**Tomorrow's post "Bigfoot Cases of Missing Time in the Woods"**
Enjoy mateys!
**Tomorrow's post "Bigfoot Cases of Missing Time in the Woods"**
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